Immediately, hundreds of cities began making pitches to attract Google’s attention, some earnest, some crazy.

Topeka, Kansas unofficially renamed itself “Google” for the month; Sarasota, Florida re-named its City Island “Google Island”; Duluth, Minnesota's mayor Don Ness jumped into a 35 degree Lake Superior as a dual-purpose media event for Google Fiber and the Special Olympics; and 1,000 Morgantown, West Virginia residents last week held up signs saying “We Want a Gig” at the WVU-Georgetown basketball game.

The majority of the cities interested in getting Google Fiber haven't resorted to cheap publicity stunts though, and are hoping that their answers to Google’s Request for Information will be much more convincing.

“I think we’re going to draw the line at silly stunts,” Madison, Wisconsin alderman Mark Clear said today. City officials there are hosting a public meeting to gather ideas for their pitch and show the community’s interest in the project.

Juneau, Alaska has made the case that its isolated, mountainous location will serve as an ideal testing ground since it is both environmentally challenging and populous.

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley reminded us of Baltimore’s historical significance as “that place from which our nation’s railroads emanated, and the place that was the source of the first telegraph message ever sent.”

Kalamazoo, Michigan is using health care as its wager. The Kalamazoo Gazette's Editorial board argues that its modern health care facilities and its major medical corporations Pfizer and Stryker could benefit greatly from the fiber network.

March 26 is the last day Google will accept submissions for its fiber optic trial, and will announce which it has chosen shortly after.

Report This Post

The digital rights watchdog group used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the document (PDF here: iPhone Developer Agreement) from NASA after it noticed the NASA App for the iPhone.

The EFF has also listed what it describes as “a few troubling highlights” from the agreement.

In order to be eligible to sell an application on Apple’s App Store, for example, developers must agree to the license agreement, part of which forbids public statements about the agreement. That explains why we haven't seen copies of the agreement or much discussion about it online.

The EFF also finds it problematic that the agreement forbids public statements about the terms of the agreement. Even though the terms are not confidential, developers are forbidden from talking about them.

Apple also retains the right to “revoke the digital certificate of any of Your Applications at any time.” In other words, Apple can kill any app at any time.

Any application built with Apple's software development kit can only be distributed through the App Store. That means that sites such as Cydia for so-called jailbroken iPhone apps are off limits.

“If Apple wants to be a real leader, it should be fostering innovation and competition, rather than acting as a jealous and arbitrary feudal lord,” EFF senior staff attorney Fred von Lohmann said on the group's site. “Developers should demand better terms and customers who love their iPhones should back them.”

Once again, the link to the PDF is here: iPhone Developer Agreement

Report This Post

The feature unveiled Thursday expands upon speech-recognition technology that YouTube began using to make captions available on a limited number of videos late last year.

YouTube’s audience will be able to request captions at the press of a button. Video producers will also be able to download the automated captions and improve upon them.

For now, YouTube’s captioning tool will only work on videos with English audio, although there are plans to include more languages. The English audio, however, can be translated into 50 different languages. YouTube, owned by Google, is the Web’s most popular video site. Its users upload about 28,800 hours of video each day.

Of course, the speech recognition technology is not perfect, and will get better over time.  This same technology is currently in use with Google Voice, a reincarnation of GrandCentral.

See a sample video below where the captions have been machine transcribed:

As you can see, I was speaking very clearly and slowly and the technology still was not that great. This has a long way to go, but it is definitely something to stay tuned to.

Report This Post

From the Verizon Wireless website:

The new Samsung Alias™ 2 gives you the convenience of a QWERTY keypad in a unique flip–style format. It has the same dual–hinge design that made original Alias a hit, but Alias 2 adds a touch of magic – a Magic Key keypad using e–ink technology. In phone mode, you see a standard phone keypad. In texting mode, however, the keys magically change into a full, four–row QWERTY keypad. But the magic doesn’t stop there. The Alias 2 also has a 2.6″ QVGA screen for crisper, clearer viewing, a 2.0 megapixel camera, and dedicated hot keys for one–touch access to some of your most used features like Bluetooth®, text messaging, voicemail, camera, voice commands, games and alarms.

This device requires data package $9.99 or higher\

A photo gallery can be found following the video.

Report This Post

This utility can convert just about any video format to just about any other video format, and it has built-in profiles for everything from BlackBerry to Zune.

To get it, click the big orange “Get It Now for Free” button on this page, write down the license code at the bottom of the following page, then go back to the previous page and click “Free Download.” Install the software and enter the code when you get to the registration screen. (Let’s see who’s first to come whining to the comments page that “this software isn’t free!” because they didn’t follow the directions.

Report This Post

Real and the MPAA reached a settlement, according to statements issued by both companies, that called for Real to stop selling RealDVD or any similar products and to pay $4.5 million to reimburse the studios for legal fees.

“We are gratified by the successful conclusion of this important matter,” said Daniel Mandil, the MPAA’s general counsel. “Judge Patel's rulings and this settlement affirm what we have said from the very start of this litigation: it is illegal to bypass the copyright protections built into DVDs designed to protect movies against theft.”

It appears that Real, the maker of the RealPlayer and other media software, has suffered total defeat in the court battle with the MPAA, the trade group representing the six largest Hollywood film studios, which began in 2008.

The MPAA filed suit to stop the sale of RealDVD, a software that hands users the ability to copy and store films to a hard drive.

From the beginning of Real’s struggle, the company appeared to be on shaky ground. Real argued that consumers possessed the right to backup their DVDs, just as they have a right to make a copy of their songs for personal use. Real told the court the company was just trying to offer consumers the means to do that and that they had a fair use right to do that.

Report This Post

This has been one of the main tech topics of the week from the Oprah Show to NPR as software developers in Edinborough, Scotland from a company called CereProc have refined voice recognition software to emulate the voice of Roger Ebert. Roger Ebert lost his voice to the effects of cancer surgery and spoke through CereProc’s recreation of his voice on Oprah this week.

Listen to this NPR story which delves more into the process used by CereProc to create these more acurate voices and some examples of their results.

20100225_atc_09

I think that they have come closer to achieving  the essence of some of the voices but I do not think they are there yet. Intonation is still not on the mark and the voices have that autotone quality. But to give a voice back to someone who has been robbed of specch is a wonderful thing. What do you think?

Report This Post

The models will range from to $1,200 to $2,000 for Panasonic’s set. Samsung and LG have not yet announced how much they will charge.

The Skype on TV application should work similarly on all three models, which in turn should closely mimic the version of the application that many people use to make free PC to PC calls, or for a fee, PC to landline. Skype accounts are free to set up and can be activated using the TV’s remote control right on the screen. The video calls will also be free, as will voice calls between Skype users. Using Skype to call traditional landline and mobile phones is a few cents per minute. Calls can be answered while watching a program, but it’s not yet possible to both talk and continue to watch uninterrupted.

By the time these models actually hit stores in late spring there should be three TV makers offering Skype on their TVs. And not just any three TV makers, but the world’s largest overall (Samsung sells practically one of every five TVs sold), the leader in plasmas (Panasonic), and LG, which is close behind Samsung, selling 15 percent of all TVs.

While Robida wrote about the idea, AT&T did the most to advance the idea from the pages of Victorian sci-fi to actuality. Unfortunately its 1960s videophone system, known as the Picturephone, was a bust. Few ever signed up for the service because you had to reserve call times and pay a whopping $16 per minute.

The idea, however, was at least on the right track: making videophones accessible to normal folk. Today teleconferencing is a common tool for companies to put employees in different locations virtually, if not physically, in the same conference room. But the high cost of the fancy systems from companies like Cisco and Hewlett-Packard doesn’t make them consumer-friendly. Cisco also announced at CES it would be offering a home version of its telepresence software sometime this year, and did not yet mention a price.

Videophones for the home have never really caught on in the way they have at businesses. Even versions of the concept built into a corded telephone didn’t really generate much excitement. Usually this was a small screen attached to a phone base station and conversations had to take place wherever the phone was plugged in, which tended to be places like a dresser or a kitchen counter.

Video calls today can be made online. They’re easy and cheap, and of course don’t require the purchase of an pricey new TV. A computer with a built-in Webcam and a voice-over-IP service like Skype or a chat application like Yahoo Messenger usually suffice, but it is still an activity that’s attached to a computer, and therefore going to be intimidating to people who either don’t like or have trouble with technology.

TVs are far more accessible though. Now with major companies like Samsung, Panasonic, and LG pushing the idea of the TV as videophone, the concept does at least have the chance to catch on. Consumer surveys show that people are beginning to buy Internet-connected TVs, which allow not just Skype calls, but also other activities on the TV that are normally confined to the computer. That includes accessing Internet radio and video streaming from services like Pandora and Netflix, and social sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr.

A survey of 800 U.S. consumers who bought TVs in January found that 27.5 percent of them have connected their new sets to the Internet, either through the TV itself or via an external device such as a game console or digital video box, according to iSuppli. And of those, almost 42 percent recently purchased a Web-connected TV. And Skype likely won’t be a brand new concept to a lot of those new TV owners. Skype already has over 521 million registered accounts, so there’s a built-in audience who is already signed up and knows how to use it.

But the quality may not be what some people expect, says DisplaySearch analyst Paul Gagnon.

“Teleconferencing is inherently kind of a low-quality experience, especially in a consumer home. On a computer it works OK, but blown up to the size of the TV, I wasn’t terribly impressed with some of the demos at CES,” he said.

And quality aside, even in terms of logistics, there’s a lot to consider. Even with an Internet-connected TV, you still need a decent Internet connection, and for a two-way video call, you have to have people on the other end with the same set up. In other words, “it’s really early,” Gagnon said.

Report This Post

By ROGER CHENG And NICK WINGFIELD

Apple Inc. launched a legal broadside against a key Google Inc. partner in the cellphone market, the latest sign of the escalating tensions between the two Silicon Valley companies.

Apple alleged numerous patent violations in lawsuits against HTC Corp., a Taiwan-based manufacturer of smart phones. HTC makes several phones that run Google’s Android operating system, including the Nexus One phone that Google is selling directly to consumers.

Apple’s two complaints—filed Tuesday in federal court in Delaware and the U.S. International Trade Commission—allege HTC devices, including the Nexus One, infringe a total of 20 Apple patents. The complaints claim the patents cover an array of cellphone technologies, everything from power-management functions to a method of unlocking a handset with a finger swipe on a touch screen.

“We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs said in a prepared statement. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.”

An HTC spokesman said the company is still reviewing the complaints. “HTC values patent rights and their enforcement but is also committed to defending its own technology innovations,” said spokesman Keith Novak.

A Google spokeswoman said that, while the company was not a party in the lawsuit, the company “stands behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it.” Apple declined to comment on whether the suit was aimed at Google.

Apple’s share of global smart-phone shipments surged to 14.4% last year from nothing when it entered the market almost three years ago, according to research firm IDC. HTC, which makes smart phones that run both Android and software from Microsoft Corp., accounted for 4.6% of the market in 2009, IDC said.

The Android technology is open source, meaning other companies are free to use and modify it, but Google works closely with handset makers like HTC to help them customize it for their devices and was closely involved in the development of the Nexus One.

While Google and other Android manufacturers weren’t named as a defendants in Apple’s suits, the legal challenges could be a way for Apple to rattle handset makers that are considering using the software, lawyers said.

HTC Chief Financial Officer Hui-Ming Cheng said Wednesday it is too early to say whether the Apple allegations will have a material impact on the company’s operations. “Our legal counsel is still studying the matter, and we’re still trying to understand the details of the case,” Mr. Cheng said. He confirmed that Apple has accused HTC of violating 20 patents in total, but declined to say which of its handset models use these patents.

While HTC also makes phones based on an operating system from Microsoft, several models of which are named in Apple’s ITC complaint, the lawsuits emphasize alleged violations by HTC’s Android phones. Those include high-profile models like Droid Eris, sold through Verizon Wireless.

The complaint with the ITC, a trade body, seeks to block imports of HTC devices made with the contested technology. Such disputes are increasingly common among technology companies and can take more than a year to resolve.

Apple Sues HTC, the Maker of Google’s Nexus One Phone – WSJ.com.

Report This Post

TAT is a Swedish software technology and design company  that differentiate and enhance the user experience of portable devices. TAT is headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, and has local offices in Korea and USA.

Soon TAT will introduce a gesture powered 3-D home screen for Android phones that combines UI technology with remarkable design elements. Here is the preview.

Report This Post

In an interview with The New York Times’Jenna Wortham, Apple’s vice president of marketing Phil Schiller explained the company was responding to complaints from concerned parents and female customers.

It came to the point where we were getting customer complaints from women who found the content getting too degrading and objectionable, as well as parents who were upset with what their kids were able to see.

I and many others still question the non-banning of Sports Illustrated and Playboy apps. Schiller explained that the Playboy and Sports Illustrated apps came from more reputable companies.Schiller said:

The difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format.

Wortham interviewed Fred Clarke, co-president of a small software company called On the Go Girls, who lost 50 apps as a result of the ban. Clarke had been making thousands of dollars off the App Store, but no longer.

It’s very hard to go from making a good living to zero. This goes farther than sexy content. For developers, how do you know you aren’t going to invest thousands into a business only to find out one day you’ve been cut off?

Another developer whose questionable app was removed from the app store received this letter from Apple:

The App Store continues to evolve, and as such, we are constantly refining our guidelines. Your application, Wobble iBoobs (Premium Uncensored), contains content that we had originally believed to be suitable for distribution. However, we have recently received numerous complaints from our customers about this type of content, and have changed our guidelines appropriately.

We have decided to remove any overtly sexual content from the App Store, which includes your application.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter. If you believe you can make the necessary changes so that Wobble iBoobs (Premium Uncensored) complies with our recent changes, we encourage you to do so and resubmit for review.

Sincerely,
iPhone App Review

Yet when TechCrunch asked Apple about their decision to remove certain other questionable apps up while banning others Apple replied:

Whenever we receive customer complaints about objectionable content we review them. If we find apps that contain inappropriate material we remove them from the App Store and request the developer to make any necessary changes to their apps in order to be distributed by Apple.

From the very beginning Apple has  said that porn was not to be  allowed in the App Store. So most  developers  coded apps that contained only partial nudity.Of course some sneaked full  nudity in, but Apple was quick to catch on and ban them. In 2009 Apple implemented a Parental Controls feature to prevent children from downloading 17+ rated conten . However, just as on the web, it will still allow the App Store to display search results for 17+ content even if they have been  prohibited from  downloading .

Now more than ever, perhaps, Apple wants to retain its “sqeaky clean” image especially in light of their courting companies such as  CBS and Disney to participate in their plans for their proposed TV Subscription service .

Let us know how you view this latest Apple move.

Report This Post

LATENiTESOFT’s  Squeeze is a background file compressor, which uses the new HFS-compression technology in Snow Leopard to transparently compress the folders you configure it to process. Mac OS will read those files normally, they will just take less disk space.

How does it work? Just select some folders to compress and Squeeze will silently work in the background to compress the files contained on those folders, regaining disk space. Whenever you use any of those files, Snow Leopard will read it like any other file in the system – it will simply take less space.
Check it out at http://www.macheist.com/warehouse/getit#squeeze
Note: If you sign up for a Mac Heist membership you get the full version code, otherwise you only get a demo.
via Squeeze: Seamless File Compression.

Report This Post

Italian Judge, Oscar Magi

Convicted: Fleischer, Drummond, Reyes and Acquitted: Desikan

The charges in this case were sought by Vivi Down, an advocacy group for people with Down syndrome, even though the boy does not have the syndrome as reported in many blogs. The group alerted prosecutors to the 2006 video showing an autistic student in Turin being pushed, pummeled with items, and insulted by bullies at school, who called him a “mongoloid”.

The  verdict could help determine legally  whether the Internet in Italy — and perhaps around the globe  — is an open, self-regulating platform or if content must be better monitored for abusive material. The ruling comes as the Italian government is looking at tighter restrictions on social networks and YouTube, which is owned by the American-based Google. where a draft bill would require Internet sites to control content the same way television stations do. Google has lobbied for changes to the bill.

Mediaset, the company owned by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, is also seeking 500 million euros in damages from YouTube  for copyright infringement.

Google Italy, which is based in Milan, said it took down the video two hours after being notified by police, as is required by law. Prosecutors argued that viewers had flagged it well before police contacted Google, and the fact that it shot to the top of a “most entertaining videos” list on the Italian site, had 5,500 views and 800 comments during the two months it was online meant it should have been noticed sooner. It is interesting to note that the events occurred just before Google’s acquisition of YouTube.

Marco Pancini, Google’s senior policy counsel in Italy, Wednesday spoke of the sentence:

(it is) an attack on fundamental principles of freedom”. We will appeal against a decision that we don’t consider surprising. Our colleagues have nothing to do with this video. They are not in the video, they have not filmed it, downloaded it or seen it.”

The four boys in the video were identified, arrested  and sentenced to community service in juvenile court.

The major implication in this landmark case is that it may force providers to sift through the multitude of videos and information uploaded every day to pre-screen the content.

UPDATE: 3 Soundbytes, 3 varying views on the Google Conviction
Here is a soundbyte from Bill Echinson, Spokesperson for Google Operations in Southern and Eastern Europe commenting on how this ruling will affect Internet Freedom:

Another by the Italian prosecutor in the case claiming that it was to “protect the innocent”:

The last by a well-known Italian journalist who claims politics may have come into play:

via Italy Convicts 3 Google Execs In Abuse Video Case : NPR.

Report This Post

Here is an interview posted on the with a random student of the school:

And a report again on Fox with an actual interview with the student directly involved in the lawsuit.

In these tight times and with technology becoming such an integral part of our curriculum, For  the school to purchase the laptops for every student and be responsible for their upkeep was quite generous  in the first place. And the school, therefore has the right to expect that these computers will be maintained and not just disappear when in the student’s care. The student in the first video has a point, though, that there are alternate ways of gathering information as to location of laptops without using a web cam. Absolute Software for example offers a complete and reliable system for tracing and maintaining hardware and software on both Windows and Mac machines. Sure, not as cost effective but look at what the school district is facing now.

We will be hearing much about this in the weeks to come and will keep you informed.  Let us know your take on this story.

Report This Post

First, let’s talk Windows Mobile.  Windows Mobile was the pioneer in smartphone technology, launching in 2003 on Palm handsets.  Windows Mobile grew and became known as the mobile OS of choice for the business user.  Of course, the launch of Apple’s iPhone in 2007 was the beginning of the end for WinMo (the nickname us geeks use).  Now, in 2010, Windows Mobile has slipped to only 18% of the market.  WinMo is still a great system, however.  The main problem with WinMo is that it lacks the “bells and whistles” of the iPhone and Android.  Windows Mobile needs a reboot, and Windows Phone 7 is just that.

The old face of Microsoft's Phone OS.

Now, lets talk Windows Phone 7.  As we called Windows Mobile “WinMo,” we will call Windows Phone “WinPho.”

WinPho is completley different.  It is like nothing the world has ever seen before.  Microsoft has really outdone themselves with this.  Lets’s start with a comprehensive feature list:

• Features an entirely new user interface, that features live “tiles.”  These tiles are live in that they provide bits of real info and then can launch you into whatever application for the full expierience.
• Simple, classy design.  The home screen is comprised simply of the afforementioned tiles, laid out on a black backround.  The accent colors of the tiles can be changed.
• No more Start menu.  What?  Yes, the Start menu interface is now history, as most tasks will be done through the new tiles. 
• To access different sets of tiles, simply swipe left or right to get different home screens.  All of the screens feature large classy font with beautiful graphics.

The new "home screen," shown with different color themes.

•  The screen is actually one, long, contiuous screen that you swipe left and right to see a particular part of.

The actual image shown behind the visible portion on the handset.

• Here’s another first for a WinPho: touch control.  Almost all of the functions of WinPho 7 are intended to be used with a capacative touchscreen!
• There are several main “hubs” for accessing the features of WinPho: People, Pictures, Games, Music + Video, Marketplace, and Office.  They are pretty much self-explainatory in their purpose.
• WinPho can synchronize with Xbox Live, providing the user with all of their info. Also one can even play mini-games to add achievements to their profile!

The Games hub featuring Xbox Live integration.

• Internet Explorer Mobile will be the default internet browser for WinPho, as it was for WinMo.  But, it is much improved here, even featuring multi-touch support right out-of-the-box!
• The Office epeirience is unlike any other smartphone out there.  It is simply unrivaled.  It features dedicated Outlook Email with Exchange support, Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and OneNote.

The Office hub in Windows Phone 7.

Let us now move on to another crucial aspect of any operating system – its applications.  Windows Mobile had a huge library of apps, and was the platform of choice for many people who created functional apps on a low budget.  Note I said “had.”  Windows Phone 7 will not support Windows Mobile apps.  Yes it’s unfortunate, but it is what needed to be done to create the great expierience that Windows Phone 7 offers.  So how will WinPho get its apps?  Through the new Marketplace hub, of course!  Theoretically, there should be a ton of apps availiable on day one due to the relatively long time developers have until it launches late this year.  There will be free apps as well as apps you pay for.

Lastly, let’s talk about hardware.  The phone in the pictures above is not a real phone; it is just a model used to represent what many real phones may look like running Windows Phone 7.  With Windows Mobile, Microsoft would simply sell the software to any company and that was it.  This explains why some phones worked great and others were unbearable, because Microsoft had no regulation over the way in which the companies integrated it into their phones.  With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft is seeking to provide a much more universal expierience by restricting the hardware makers in several ways:

• All phones must have a capacative multi-touch touchscreen.
• All phones must have an accelerometer.
• All phones must have at least a 5 MP camera.
• All phones must have an FM Radio.
• Every Phone must have a Bing (search) and Windows (Start) button.
• Custom interfaces like Sony Ericsson’s Panels are now banned.
• Only corporations can buy an OEM copy of WinPho.
• Basically the phone maker gets to decide the look of the hardware, but not the software.

Microsoft has announced what companies are in line to build Windows Phone 7 devices: Qualcomm, LG, Samsung, Garmin-Asus, HTC, HP, Dell, Sony Ericsson (yay!), and Toshiba.  Steve Ballmer also noted that AT&T will be the “premier” carrier of Windows Phone 7 devices. 

AT&T, the "premier" partner of Microsoft for Windows Phone 7.

Expect to see it on handsets at the end of this year.  Stay tuned to Tech Talk for all the latest news regarding Windows!

Report This Post

Coverage maps are not a guarantee of coverage and may contain areas with no service.(The coverage is) predicted and approximate wireless coverage of the Verizon Wireless Network and the network of other carriers. some of the coverage depicted is based on their information and public sources and we cannot ensure its accuracy.

Translation: We’re exaggerating. a lot.

As a Verizon customer, I love the large network. But sometimes, Verizon is very slow. The At&t network, on the other hand, is considerably faster but doesnt cover nearly as much area. Overall, both companies have their merits, and a customer should decide which features are most important to them. So Verizon, At&t, stop bashing each other and start using that money for better purposes, maybe something like, I dont know… improving your networks?

Report This Post

1. In iChat, open Preferences, and go to the Accounts tab. Click the plus sign at the bottom of the window to add a new account.



2. Select Jabber Account from the Account Type drop-down menu.
3. Enter your_facebook_username@chat.facebook.com in the Account Name field, and enter your Facebook password in the Password field.



4. Click the triangle next to Server Options . Enter chat.facebook.com in the Server field, and 5222 in the Port field. Make sure the Use SSL box is not checked.



5. Click Done.

Launch iChat and it will now have your Facebook account added.

Actually, you can now add your Facebook contact list to almost any chat client or web chat service. Facebook has freed Facebook Chat from the constraints of your browser window, adding support for the Jabber/XMPP protocol.

Using Jabber/XMPP, the same protocol used by Gmail’s built-in IM feature Google Talk, allows you to add Facebook Chat to IM programmes like AIM, Pigin, Adium and iChat as well as a host of other Windows and Mac OS X apps.
Head on over to Facebook’s Chat Tour Pageand get some instructions for hooking up your alternate Chat apps.

Report This Post

K.R. Sridhar, Founder & CEO Bloom Energy

Bloom Box Fuel Cells

Sound like a Pipe Dream? Well, apparently beginning with Google, Bloom Boxes have been running large business plants for several months now. Ebay, Walmart, Staples  and FedEx are among the 20 others who have been testing the Bloom Box successfully.

On 60 Minutes tonight, Lesley Stahl had the exclusive interview with CEO, K.R. Sridhar and also spoke with  the CEO of ebay, John Donohoe who confirmed that Bloom Boxes were installed at his corporate campus nine months ago. He says the boxes already saved them over $100,000 in electricity bills.

It’s been very successful thus far. [The Bloom Boxes] have done what they said they would do. The five boxes are able to produce five times as much electricity as the 3,248 solar panels that E-bay installed on its campus roofs. The footprint for Bloom is much more efficient,

Bloom recieved over $400 million in startup investment from Silicon Valley Venture Capital firm, Kleiner Perkins’ partner, John Doerr, making it one of the most expensive startups in history.He has high hopes for this, his first investment in clean energy.

This 5 kilowatt Bloom Box prrovides enough power for 5000 sq. ft. home

Here is a short video clip from the CBS 60 Minutes Broadcast tonight.

On Wednesday morning many big wigs including Governor,Arnold Schwarzenegger , General Colin Powell  and others will attend the official unveiling to the press in San Jose, California. Let us know what you think the future is for this technology.

Report This Post

Users in the U.S. and other countries reported problems beginning Saturday morning.

Some could not log in, and the site was unusually slow and glitchy for others. Users in London, Bangkok and Mexico City reported problems. Many used Twitter to complain.

Facebook spokesman Matt Hicks said the company is working to restore access as quickly as possible. Without giving a specific number, said it was a “small percentage of users” who had problems accessing Facebook, their friends' profiles or specific site features because of an isolated server problem.

Facebook, which has more than 400 million users, has generally avoided such hiccups. Twitter has had bigger problems.

Last August, hackers shut down the short messaging service for several hours.  Facebook also had problems, but was never shut down completely.

Report This Post

Under the deal, the Skype mobile software will be available on a variety of smartphones: RIM’s BlackBerry Storm 9530, Storm2 9550, Curve 8330, Curve 8530, 8830 World Edition, and Tour 9630 and Motorola’s Droid, Eris, and Devour. Customers will need to have a data plan to use the application, the companies said in an announcement at the Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona.

Skype, independent once again after an eBay spinoff last year, is a top company providing voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services that let people talk over the Net. For a fee, Skype also lets members call ordinary phone numbers through its Skype Out service or receive such calls through Skype In, and it's added video chat as well.

Through the Verizon deal, Skype members will be able to make unlimited Skype calls to other Skype members, call international phone numbers at Skype Out rates, and send Skype instant messages, the companies said.

Skype offers applications for iPhones and Android phones, but the data-access demands of voice chat have imposed compromises.

On the iPhone, the application works only over Wi-Fi connections for now, though AT&T approved VoIP applications in 2009. And on Android, the application connects the call conventionally over a local number rather than through VoIP.

Report This Post